


The Reflecting God

by theescapist99



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, I wrote this because i know well never get to see this happen in the movies, Lots of Angst, M/M, and that makes me sad as hell because we should, but cmon, but dont worry he comes around, but lets be honest i always say that lol, credence is angery, credence is grindelwalds boyfriend currently, established relationship before the movie, hasnt seen credence since the events of fb, i mean not that i expect them to start making out but, maybe ill expand on this, more evil credence than not, or before rather, percival is not super nice, percivals pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 10:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11804292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theescapist99/pseuds/theescapist99
Summary: Years after Gellert Grindelwald lay waste to their secret relationship, Percival and Credence finally come face to face again -- except Credence goes by a new name, and wants nothing to do with the distraught boy that Percival still mourned.Now fully in control of the obscurus and everything that comes with it, Credence charges into the confrontation prepared for a fight to the death.Percival, however, senses the weakness in his conviction -- and the battle between two of the most powerful wizards of their time takes a surprising turn.





	The Reflecting God

They had reached the basement of the enormous, seemingly unending facility.

In the wake of MACUSA’s executive Auror division bodies of dark wizards lay all around them like fleshy, rotting heaps of red snow.

Percival Graves – the MACUSA director who walked cautiously at the forefront of the group – raised his wand so that the small magical light that burned at its tip flickered upwards and illuminated a wide set of decrepit oak doors just before them.

They were a very faded brown in color from what Percival remembered when had seen them last – trapped in this very same dungeon so many years prior. While above the surface, Gellert Grindelwald had worn his skin and donned his face.

Percival knew there would be one more room before they reached where Gellert Grindelwald was likely hiding, an empty storage room that lead to a concealed master bedroom.

And of course, he knew _who_ he would likely find in said room – but try as he might to steady his breathing and soothe his pounding pulse, Percival could still feel the anxiety that seemed to jump sky high with every step closer.

“Mr. Graves…”

He thought he heard someone whisper his name. Yet, if it had been one of his colleagues who trailed him, Percival did not bother to acknowledge having heard.

Besides – it hadn’t _really_ seemed like the whisper had come from behind him.

…Had it?

The whisper was spoken by no one, in truth, Percival Graves knew.

Rather, it was only an auditory hallucination he had heard while in total solace many times as of late; a pleading cry from the lips of a phantom made of darkness, guilt, and the repercussions of a building insomnia that he never could quite overcome.

It was a demur call from a boy presumed dead.

Or at least _was_ presumed dead – until of course the young man made a very public appearance on Gellert Grindelwald’s arm only one year ago, thin and deranged looking… but unmistakably alive.

“Credence…”

Percival half sighed the name as the oak doors creaked open, emitting a shrill shriek that was ear splitting in the tense silence.  

Barely passing as humanoid, Credence floated slightly above ground without any visible effort, as clouds of smoke blacker than the sheer darkness of the basement’s backdrop rolled off him in noiseless waves.

Yet what surprised Percival most was not the impressive display of power – or rather, the display of control _over_ his power – but instead his clothing.

Credence was dressed to the nines… almost comically so.

It was certainly an attire that Percival had never imagined Credence wearing – a black tuxedo suit with unnecessary decorative frills on every inch.

It was certainly odd in contrast to the rags that Mary Lou used to slap on him… needless to say that Percival had never approved of those either.

Had Grindelwald been so desperate to shake the No-Maj roots off of his boy toy, the dark wizard had simply gone to the other extreme?

Certainly not a mistake Percival would have made.

No, certainly not.

“I’m not sure who you mean,” the boy hissed back, strangely audible despite the vast distance between them.

 “Sorry…” Percival grunted, unable to stop the snide smirk that curled a side of his lip, “Been a while. You go by a different name now… isn’t that correct, Credence?”

He could hear the slight growl as Credence suddenly lunged forward at the taunting utterance, and it was enough to give Percival the warning he needed.

Behind him, he could hear the minute sounds of his Aurors preparing to counter attack.

And so Percival spun on his heel, sending the group he was assigned to protect flying back from sheer surprise. They barely had time to emit their shocked gasps before Percival managed to close the oak doors on them, just before Credence could reach them… or before they could reach Credence.

Once the doors had slammed shut, Percival dove out of the magical missiles path – leaving Credence to clash head first into nothing but the door.

The boy practically bounced off its panels, leaving visible singes at the point of contact… and a few smoking scars just beyond that.

It was too easy, really.

The boy – now commonly known as Obadiah, the devout weapon and servant of Gellert Grindelwald -- was known to be quick to anger at any mention of his life as Credence Barebone. It was a lesson that a grown Modesty Barebone had to learn the hard way once Albus Dumbledore enlisted her help in trying to make him see reason.

In the present Credence recovered from his abrupt collision with the door. Though half covered in thick plumes of black mist, Credence quick to turn to where Percival now stood -- eyeing the black mass with an unreadable expression.

Again, the boy lunged with the speed of a starved cheetah, finally going in for the kill. But this time, Percival did not dive out of the way.

This time Percival met the apparition with a steady and dominating hand -- his left most coming up to halt the boy’s approach just before impact.

His bare palm burned as Credence crashed into it, but Percival was steady in his grip. For every burn that felt like a thousand paper cuts at once, the director made it a point to squeeze even harder, bearing down on whatever solid areas he could find.

It wasn’t long until he could feel Credence try to pull away rather than remain on the offense, perhaps realizing that his only wall of defense was literally starting to fall apart. Yet Percival would not yield, having prepared for this moment – and it was going exactly as he had hoped.

Against the fresh burns of Percival’s palm, he now felt the moist surface of a sweaty and frail human neck solidifying.

“As much as you may hate me,” Percival spoke as the smoke finally began to dissipate, leaving a boy in his clenched fist rather than Grindelwald’s revered weapon of mass destruction, “… as much as you hate _him_ … you will always be Credence Barebone to me, boy.”

Credence grasped and writhed in the chokehold but was obviously too weak to incinerate Percival on the spot like he likely yearned to.

Percival shot him a pitying look, and the older man promptly dropped him – Credence landing ungracefully on the floor like a beat up rag doll.

The boy didn’t seem in a rush to stand up and continue the fight, his eyes suddenly downcast on the cement floor. Percival took it as a sign that he could let his guard down – for now, at least.

“I’ve had enough of your slander,” Credence hissed without looking up, “If there was ever a Credence Barebone, he died a long time ago. You were behind the trigger, Graves.”

“And the man you obey is your savior?” Percival chided, unable to keep the bitter edge from his words, “ _He’s_ only manipulated you out of your identity… just as he did to me with mine.”

“He’s done more for me than _you…_ ,” Credence shot back nastily, “He took me in while you left me to rot in the church… and then all together without so much as a goodbye.”

Percival rolled his eyes, fighting the sudden urge to kick the rabid, seething dog at his feet.

“How many times do you have to hear it, boy?” Percival growled, knowing full well that Scamander’s younger brother and both the Goldstein’s had tried to explain this to the younger man on numerous occasions -- before he succumbed to Grindelwald’s advances.

“I did it for _your_ protection. I had planned on coming back… but in case I didn’t, I didn’t want to risk your master over there tracking you down.” Percival shot a disdainful look towards the spot of dust covered wall where he knew the entrance to Grindelwald’s secret bedroom hid, “As far as the church goes, I was planning on getting you out of there. I know you don’t believe me, Credence, but I swear it now… as I always have and always will.”

“ _Liar_ ,” Credence spat back, the smoke around him starting to regenerate in density.

“What makes me so, Credence?” Percival asked softly -- almost gently, “Is it that you genuinely believe this has all been a giant conspiracy to maintain my innocence… or are you really just afraid of having been tricked by Grindelwald, by another person you thought to have cared for you once again?”

“He… he loves me,” Credence argued under his breath with uncertain resolve, likely more to himself than to his unwelcome company.

Yet the breathless response slipped from Percival’s lips unexpectedly -- without second thought.

“Never more than I have, Credence... _never_ more than I.”

The boy finally looked up at him, and even in the poor lighting, Percival saw the younger man was finally on the brink of tears.

The vaguely familiar vision distracted Percival from the embarrassment of his candid confession -- and for just a few seconds, he forgot himself.

He forgot Gellert Grindelwald who likely lurked just a few feet away.

He forgot about Obadiah, the newest dark wizard to wield chaos and destruction within the wizarding community.

Percival’s regret and remorse for opportunities long past consumed any thought or even memory of events, both recent and current – and the director knelt down so that their conflicted and weary faces were eye level… and Percival closed the small space that separated them until their lips met.

Somewhere off into the distance, there was a banging noise.

Maybe it was the Aurors finally managing to break down the door that Percival had sealed off to them.

Maybe it was Gellert Grindelwald -- emerging from where he hid, only to be met with the sight of his precious concubine in a lip lock with a long dismissed enemy.

Or perhaps it was the bang of the fireworks that seemed to explode between the two men, eagerly igniting after so many years of abandonment and dormancy.

Maybe it was the dull thump of their racing hearts clashing and colliding with one another, separated only by the flesh and bone that made up the walls of their chests.

Whatever it was, neither man would know – eyelids tightly sealed shut as they savored and relished in the sheer euphoria of the moment that both men had dreamed of in secret for longer than either would admit.

It was Percival who finally broke it off -- his lungs depleting of both oxygen and resolve. When he stepped back, he didn’t miss how Credence instantly leaned in further, obviously hungry for more.

But that was for later.

“You ready to give this another chance, kid?” Percival asked perhaps a little too harshly than he had meant, his hand reaching into his own coat for an ill-timed cigarette.

Standing on the other side of the storage room, before a door where blank wall was minutes earlier, Gellert Grindelwald had indeed appeared. The grey haired man was expressionless, wand poised and ready to strike. Yet despite the carefully sculpted mask, Percival could still feel the lividity that glowed from the dark wizard – the agony of having Credence stolen away from him, a pain that Percival knew all too well.

The thought brought a carnal kind of glee that Percival had to actively repress from curling the corners of his lips.

“Yes,” came the soft yet confident reply beside him, as Credence finally rose to stand beside him.

The ease of convincing Credence to switch allegiances did trouble Percival somewhat, but again that was something he knew he would have to work on with the boy another day.

Even from the wide distance, Percival could see Grindelwald’s wand hand trembling slightly.

“Obadiah,” Grindelwald scolded from across the room, “Do _not_ listen to that man. He only seeks to use and betray you as he did before.” 

Percival barked a sharp and humorless laugh, twirling the unlit cigarette between his fingers thoughtfully before he turned to look at Credence. The boy was already half merged into the darkness of the basement, with only the shimmer and twinkle of the obscurus to expose where he stood. The face that he had kissed moments earlier began to melt and evaporate, but Percival could still see the weak, uncertain, yet faithful smile before he transformed completely.

Calmly, Percival lit the end of his cigarette and took a hit. He returned the smile he could no longer see, and almost gloatingly the director quipped:

“Welcome back, my boy.”

And at that Credence lunged – promptly swallowing Gellert Grindelwald into the belly of the monster he had created.

Percival took a second drag of his cigarette as he stood idly by, listening to the agonized screams of Gellert’s death.

Revenge was sweet indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to name it Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, but that felt... cheesy haha.
> 
> Hiii.


End file.
